Chapter 369 Herbal Medicine

The Great Qi Dynasty forbade witchcraft and sorcery, and the common people kept it a taboo subject, fearing it greatly. Even governesses did not mention it, as it was called evil magic and was something to be terrified of.

Li Ruoshuang bought the storybook by chance. She was originally worried that her older sister, Li Ruoxue, would see it and tell on her. She was thinking of finding an opportunity to go to the kitchen and throw the storybook into the stove to burn it. Now the storybook has a new value.

Because witchcraft is taboo, it arouses more people's curiosity. It is believed that the writers of the storybooks took advantage of people's desire for novelty and used it as a gimmick.

Li Ruoxue had a penchant for unorthodox methods, so Li Ruoshuang used the storybook as a starting point, and things went even more smoothly than expected.

"What token did the young lady send to the man she loved?"

Li Ruoxue was very interested in this. It would be best to give him a purse or similar item so that Bai Dingfeng could carry it with him and look at it when he missed her.

According to the servants of the Bai family, Bai Dingfeng was devoted to his studies and showed no interest in women. He also did not have any maids by his side. Therefore, if the two had not consummated their relationship, this must have been the first time that Bai Dingfeng had been so intimate with a woman.

"Little sister, you go to sleep first, I'll read some storybooks."

Li Ruoxue was already exhausted from being punished by Granny Fang, but the thought of getting engaged to Bai Dingfeng made her so excited that she couldn't sleep and became even more energetic.

Li Ruoxue lit an oil lamp and turned the pages of a storybook, becoming more and more engrossed in the stories as she read.

"So, witchcraft really can control people's minds?"

The story goes that after being controlled, the man's personality changed drastically. He only loved the spellcaster and resolutely broke off his engagement. For this, he did not hesitate to break ties with his parents and bear the name of being unfilial.

What kind of witchcraft could drive someone to such a state of madness? Is it really that magical?

Li Ruoxue closed her eyes. She had never been to the capital, but she had inquired about it from people in the opera troupes there and learned about its prosperity.

Once Bai Dingfeng leaves the north and arrives in the capital, he will no longer be able to control his own destiny. If he were to break off the engagement, the Bai family would only suffer a loss of reputation, while he himself would lose everything.

Bai Dingfeng is about to take the imperial examination, and we are afraid that something might happen that could cause a delay. It was for this reason that Madam Yan reluctantly asked someone to propose marriage to her family. She is not the kind of woman Madam Yan likes. If there is a suitable candidate, Madam Yan will not hesitate to kick her aside.

Li Ruoxue was well aware of this. She did not believe that her beauty could move Bai Dingfeng. The only thing that could move the Bai family was money, and she was not irreplaceable.

The witchcraft described in the storybooks is so magical? She wants to try it.

It would take at least a month before Bai Dingfeng could go to Yutan Temple to offer incense. By then, Bai Dingfeng would have already left the prefectural city and was on his way to the capital.

Bai Dingfeng's birth date and time were not a big secret. Li Ruoxue had bribed the servants of the Bai family, originally intending to find a Taoist priest to help with the marriage compatibility analysis, but now she had other uses for it.

"younger sister?"

Li Ruoxue made up her mind and tried to probe with her words, but after waiting for a long time, she received no reply.

On the bed, separated by the bed curtains, Li Ruoshuang closed her eyes but curled her lips into a smug smile, knowing that she had succeeded.

The art of witchcraft must be kept absolutely secret; no one should know about it. Li Ruoxue tiptoed around the room, making sure the doors and windows were tightly closed. She sat under the bronze mirror, picked up a pair of scissors, gritted her teeth, and ruthlessly cut off her hair.

He braided the hair and made two small dolls out of scraps of cloth. He glued the hair to the head of the girl doll, and used scraps of cloth from Bai Dingfeng's underpants on the other side. He also used a jade pendant engraved with his name to bind the two dolls together, and wrote their birth dates on the back.

According to the storybook, as long as the incantation is recited again, the two can be together for all eternity, and the man will never change his heart.

"Does Yan really think he's something?"

Li Ruoxue smiled contemptuously. If she succeeded, she would first sow discord between Yan Shi and Bai Dingfeng, causing the mother and son to drift apart. She was a vengeful person.

Li Ruoxue didn't sleep all night, but she was still full of energy the next day.

Li Ruoshuang secretly observed, inwardly mocking Li Ruoxue's foolishness. In the past, when the two sisters were together, Li Ruoxue was always the fool who was used as a pawn. Li Ruoshuang dared not voice her opinions, otherwise she would be the first to be targeted.

Taking advantage of the lunch break when everyone was resting, Li Ruoshuang secretly went to the kitchen with the storybook and threw it into the stove.

When Li Ruoxue is exposed, given that person's personality, he will definitely try to implicate her, and Li Ruoshuang cannot give her sister that opportunity.

After about half an hour, the storybook was burned to ashes without a trace. Li Ruoshuang breathed a satisfied sigh of relief before slowly returning to her room.

Since the Dragon Boat Festival, Lin Yuesha noticed a subtle change in Bai Youran's attitude towards her. He deliberately became distant, and the two hardly spoke to each other in order to avoid mentioning Bai Dingfeng.

Lin Yuesha was initially a little disappointed, but after she figured it out, she wasn't sad anymore.

Everyone has their own stance. Once there is a conflict of interest, Bai Youran is a member of the Bai family, and it is impossible for them to favor an outsider like her.

It must be said that although the teachers and governesses were strict in the girls' school, it was not without effect.

One day, Granny Fang brought several bowls of medicinal soup to the young ladies. Lin Yuesha watched as they drank it down as if it were a precious treasure, and finally understood why all the young ladies were so eager to get into the girls' school.

"Sister Bai, you just drank it like that?"

Lin Yuesha was dumbfounded to see Bai Youran, who was usually so refined, drink the bitter medicine soup in one gulp and then show a satisfied expression.

"Sister Lin, you don't understand. Do you think we're afraid of being expelled from the girls' school just for the sake of our reputation?"

After Zhao Fundie finished drinking, she stared at Lin Yuesha's medicine bowl, wishing she could snatch it away.

Not only Zhao Fendie, but all the young ladies stared longingly at the bowl in Lin Yuesha's hand, their eyes filled with envy.

"Is it really that good?"

Lin Yuesha stuck out her tongue and licked it, almost vomiting from the fishy smell. She hesitated whether to put it in her mouth.

"You really are a country girl. Even if you manage to get into a girls' school, you can't wash away the smell of the mud on you."

Li Ruoxue glanced at Lin Yuesha with disdain, then looked down at her with her head held high and said, "This is a family recipe passed down by Granny Fang. This recipe can... help with growth there, and improve one's figure."

Li Ruoxue puffed out her chest, looking very proud. Lin Yuesha, that withered bean sprout, actually complained about the bitterness of the medicine. What a fool! You should know that this prescription is priceless. Her mother was willing to spend ten thousand taels of silver, but she still couldn't buy the prescription for this medicine.

"I understand."

Lin Yuesha instantly understood why these young ladies had a hint of joy in their eyes, but not hers.

The recipe given by the pockmarked woman was nourishing and had obvious effects. However, it was inconvenient for Lin Yuesha to continue drinking it in the girls' school. No matter how good Fang Mama's recipe was, she was not interested in it because the taste was much worse than the one given by the pockmarked woman.

Besides, it looks pitch black, who knows what kind of rubbish is inside? Granny Fang loves to play pranks on people, and Lin Yuesha didn't want to drink anything that went into her mouth, nor did she dare to.